The present invention relates to pigment grind compositions.
Coating compositions which are pigmented generally incorporate the pigment component by blending pigment, dispersing agent or grind vehicle and other optional additives together with organic solvent into a paste which is then blended with a major portion of the film forming vehicle to produce the final coating composition. Depending upon the particular pigment, that is whether it is organic or inorganic, and the dispersing agent or grind vehicle for the pigment, preparation of the pigment grind composition may require excessive amounts of organic solvent to incorporate and adequately disperse the pigment. This could raise environmental concerns over volatile solvent emissions. Moreover, certain pigments are not as readily incorporated, necessitating the use of a particularly tailored vehicle for each type of pigment and, in addition, inordinately long grinding periods may be required, thus increasing cost and decreasing production efficiency.
There is a need, therefore, for a pigment grind composition which is versatile not only in its ability to incorporate a variety of pigments quickly and effectively, but also which produces minimal volatile organic solvent emissions.